The population of the city of Wentzville and its surrounding communities is one of many areas in Missouri growing at a fast pace from people coming to live here to find jobs and live in a good school district.
The data in a previous demographic study from 2019 showed that the Wentzville School District continued to be the fastest growing school district in the state. The district has averaged about 602 new students each year since 2001. This made the WSD the ninth largest school district in Missouri.
With new homes and apartments continuing to be built and people from out of state, in-state, and other cities nearby moving to the community, the population in the Wentzville area will increase abundantly in the future and will also increase at a rapid pace with new student enrollments.
According to the Wentzville School District Communications Department, their demographic study of 2019 predicted that over the next decade the district would add up to 5,000 new students and over the next 10 years could top 22,000 students released by MGT Consulting Group. The district began this school year with an overall enrollment of more than 17,500 students.
Mr. Bradley Smith, English teacher, lives in the district and has seen the rapid growth over the last several years.
“Too many houses, not enough trees,” Smith. “It is causing too much traffic.”
With the expanding population comes the construction of new neighborhoods. One of many areas being developed is on the corner of Bryan Road and Feise Road. Within that area, you have three companies: Fischer Homes, McKelvey Homes, and Lombardo Homes.
Andy Babor is one of the sales managers at McKelvey Homes Community, which is located at Inverness Estates by McKelvey Homes (100 Royal Inverness Pkwy, Dardenne Prairie, Mo. 63368). Babor has been working with the company for a little over five years.
Originally, McKelvey Homes bought the farmland from the Cora Bopp Family Limited Partnership after Walmart Stores Inc. backed away. When they bought the land, they partnered with Fischer and Lombardo Homes, because it was easier to sell homes that way.
“More people moving into the community is good. I mean it’s more tax dollars for schools, and libraries, and all of the government and safety officials, and city administrators,” Babor said.
So far the development companies have sold all the homes in phase one and two, but overall there will be 382 homes off of Inverness Parkway in Dardenne Prairie.
“It brings more dollars to the city,” Babor said. He estimated that within another two years the project should be finished, but depending on how quickly the homes sell it could take longer than two years.
Coming to a conclusion that more students will be enrolling in the district soon, the Board of Education is getting a head start to make sure that there will be enough room to hold all the students coming in and dealing with the current capacity issue.
With the district building and expanding schools to be able to efficiently educate and hold all the students, the fourth high school (North Point), should be able to address the overutilization through the next decade.
